Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers before free agency kicks off at 3 p.m. CST.

The Green Bay Packers are nearing an agreement to retain outside linebacker Nick Perry, and barring any unforeseen circumstances should sign him to a new deal before the start of free agency, a source said Thursday morning.

Terms of the deal weren’t available, but Perry is expected to receive at least $10 million per year after receiving considerable interest from three other teams. Among those who were interested were the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets.

Perry was considered the best edge rusher in free agency, but what hasn’t gotten a lot of notice is his stellar play against the run:

TE JARED COOK: “I see him as a good No. 2 or a subpar No. 1. Lot of similarities to Julius Thomas. I think he’d get $4.5 to $5.5 (million per year in average compensation). The problem he’s going to run into is the tight-end draft class is awesome so it’s hard to get motivated for a (veteran). He lost a lot of leverage. If I were a GM I’d squeeze him. He should get some payment for services rendered (last year). He overproduced that deal.” … “Oh, yeah, he’ll have a market. He made a lot of plays this year when he was healthy. He’ll go up to between $5 and $6 (million). He and Martellus Bennett are about the best tight ends.” … “Early on in his career he was a guy who ran well and caught the ball. He fits a tight-end-by-committee system because he fits a role. He just has to be more consistent catching the ball.”

I had NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling on my podcast to talk about Ted Thompson and free agency: